ZDNET is reporting that Yahoo! Inc.'s Yahoo! Broadcast is planning to stop supporting RealNetworks' RealAudio streaming format, leaving only Microsoft's Windows Media Player as the supported player. Currently, users of the Yahoo! Broadcast service have a choice of which player to use when listening to most broadcasts.

JOEL'S OPINION
This is a perfect example of what Microsoft can do. RealNetworks was enjoying a nice monopoly with no competition in sight until Microsoft suddenly decided to step up its own media player development efforts. Now Microsoft is leveraging its power and is making deals faster than RealNetworks could ever dream possible.

The big question is whether RealNetworks will be able to compete head-on with Microsoft. It's tough to say, considering that Microsoft has also recently stepped up its portable technology efforts. My guess is that Microsoft will put its Media Player into anything it can get its hands on. I just hope that RealNetworks can keep up.

I used to love RealNetworks and hate Microsoft's Media Player. Now, the latest version of RealPlayer is so bloated that I won't even install it on my system for fear of losing too many resources. Unfortunately, that leaves me using Microsoft's Media Player instead.

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